Friday, April 17, 2009

Free At Last . . . .

Break out the Chametz!

Oreos Away . . . .

OK - That might be a bit over the top . . . . Bread - free for a week isn't really that bad.

However, in the great Tradition of things that bewilder non-religious people the end of Pesach means that everything I did last week I have to undo as soon as it's over. And it wasn't over until 8:17 last night, which is why the modern American tradition is to desperately order pizza and use paper plates to eat it.

So until I revert the kitchen and switch the Pesadik stuff (kosher for passover in Yiddish) like the pots and pans, silverware, dishes and mixing bowls, I can't cook regular food in the kitchen. Then in the kind of thing that makes observant Jews think that maybe Reform might have had the right idea on some stuff, tonight is Shabbat which means it's time to light things on fire and have another festive meal and indulge in no-commerce for 24 hours. All of which is solemnized with TWO BIG FLUFFY LOAVES OF BREAD!

Right- so since I am Working Woman we went out for breadsticks and Alfredo sauce at Olive Garden, which I personally capped off with some Tiramisu. Got home by 10, too tired to switch kitchen, send out the Hordes to school and work from 6am - 8am then work for me - Shabbat will start at 8ish tonight so I'll have about an hour and a half to change all the stuff, to make sure I don't contaminate the Passover stuff by accidentally touching it with stuff I shouldn't.

Yetzair Ha-Ra is laughing at me, covered in Oreo Crumbs, because he knows that I will accomplish the wine, fire and probably the kitchen switch and challa ( bread) but tonight's festive meal is gonna most likely be pizza ordered before sundown and paid with a credit card so that I don't exchange money during Shabbat.

(Burning Man and Shabbat have a lot in common, participation is required, no commerce and fire is mandatory).

It's cool though, Pizza and Red Wine are excellent together, but yeah I can totally see why people who aren't doing this think observant people are nuts. But I get pizza and red wine tonight, and I lost six pounds last week (which means maybe I should eat a few less baked goods out of the work vending machine, because those were six out of ten recent pounds that I was very unhappy about) and no one loves Olive Garden's breadsticks and Alfredo Sauce like Jews who are coming out of Passover. For that moment they are sublime.

Blessed are you, Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, who provides the capacity for both chain restaurants and delivery for those of us who are trying find a midway. Blessed are you, who allows us to crack jokes while we are dealing with our Exoduses, large and small, internal and external, whether you are actually there or not.

Hopefully, I'll be able to sneak in a new Tiny Alien Episode before Shabbat too. What? I've already decided to order Pizza that knocks an hour off my timeline right there.

About Me

What it's all about.

This is a mix of journal, photography and continuing stories. It is what happens when Van Winkle Wakes Up and has to relearn the way around.

Continuing stories are linked together if you'd like to avoid the journal parts. Stories are listed with the most recent entry at the top when you click the link. If you'd like to read it in order, please start at the bottom and read up.

Tiny Alien - a finished story - starts with a "Table of Contents" link so you can read it in order.